Leanza Cornett

Eva Leanza Cornett (June 10, 1971 – October 28, 2020) was an American television personality and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Florida 1992 and Miss America 1993 the same year. Cornett was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and was a 1989 graduate of Terry Parker High School. She was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006. Cornett was previously National Sweetheart 1991. As Miss America 1993, she became the first Miss America to adopt AIDS awareness as her platform for her year of service, and was among the first titleholders who refused to wear her crown for public appearances. Cornett was the first actress to play a live-action version of Ariel, the title character from The Little Mermaid, at the "Voyage of The Little Mermaid" show at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in 1991. She was also a member of the contemporary Christian music group Area Code, which released their single album, One Big World, before Cornett's big break. She also served as a host for several television shows, including Entertainment Tonight (1994–1995), New Attitudes (1998), and Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? (2000).